Trump's team had over 100 contacts with Russian-linked officials, according to think tank analysis

A majority of Americans say they believe President Donald Trump has tried to obstruct the investigation into his campaign's ties to Russia, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (Dec. 21)
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WASHINGTON – Members of President Donald Trump's campaign and transition team had more than 100 contacts with Russian-linked officials, according to an analysis by the Center for American Progress think tank and its Moscow Project.

CAP, a liberal think tank, used publicly available court documents and reporting to tally up the number of contacts with Russian-linked officials, which includes those with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and others tied to Russian intelligence, banks and politicians.

The organizations counted each meeting and message as a separate contact.

The number of contacts was raised to 101 this week, according to CAP, after it was reported that Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, a former campaign aide, shared polling data with Manafort's former Russian business partner Konstantin Kilimnik.

Contacts between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russians are under scrutiny in special counsel Robert Mueller's two-year investigation into Moscow's interference in the presidential election.

Both the White House and a lawyer for the president did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY about this report. Trump has repeatedly denied allegations of colluding with the Kremlin and dubbed the special counsel investigation a “witch hunt.”

Newspaper front pages from around the nation are on display at the Newseum Saturday, March 23, 2019, in Washington. Special counsel Robert Mueller closed his long and contentious Russia investigation with no new charges, ending the probe that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency. Alex Brandon, AP

Special Counsel Robert Mueller arrives at his office on March 21, 2019 in Washington DC. It is expected that Mueller will soon complete his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and release his report. Mark Wilson, Getty Images

Mueller leaves after briefing members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election on Capitol Hill on June 21, 2017. Michael Reynolds, European Pressphoto Agency

Mueller arrives for a court hearing at the Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco on April 21, 2016. He had been overseeing settlement talks with Volkswagen, the U.S. government and private lawyers for the automaker to buy back some of the nearly 600,000 diesel cars that cheat on emissions tests. Jeff Chiu, AP

Dessel said the group omitted many contacts that were seen as "intermediaries" between the members of Trump's team and Russian-linked officials. She said that the number of contacts they discovered was likely “conservative,” noting the number could be much higher.

Russia's role in the 2016 election and ties between the president and the Kremlin are all but certain to remain constant themes of 2019 with a new Democratic-led House that now has subpoena and investigative powers.

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Special counsel Robert Mueller made court filings in cases against President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Friday. (Dec. 7)
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